To Touch the Stars
by Bluebird Soaring
Summary: A bot reflects on life. Double drabble, Jazz x Prowl focus, mainly fluff.


It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, but it was everything he had ever dreamed it could be. Caught up in a whirlwind of blues and greens, the rush of something unseen swept him off his feet and for a moment he flew through the tornado of color almost peacefully. He imagined himself as a cloud or a wave on the ocean, cresting in one supreme effort, then sliding back on itself, only to be pulled down into the depths by the clammy hands of the unseen currents. The colors faded to dark purple and black as he crashed downward, his floating bed lost to a passing breeze. He knew that he was not created to fly, and so he was grateful for even the illusion of flight, no matter how fleeting it was. He landed, not with a hard crash or even any discomfort, only the sensation of no longer falling. The brilliant colors were gone, but his vision still swam with memories, sensation, and dreams for tomorrow. It seemed to all fall into the pit like a rock, as the realization hit him that he could never go back to that one moment in time. Then he rose to the top of the water.

Only then did he worry about his safety. The colors had hypnotized him into a dull but happy existence, and for a while he had enjoyed it. Now he worried how he would ever swim to shore. He wished he had grabbed the flotation device as he fell. He felt his mind drifting, dreaming about how he would love to grow fins and live as a fish, always able to fly through the liquid space. Only then would he be able to explore the undiscovered country that lays buried beneath the impenetrable shroud of blue. He caught himself sinking again as his mind wandered. He was being swallowed alive by the waters that seemed to fixate his mind. He struggled, reaching his arms up towards the life giving air that was his native element. He broke through the silvery surface, grabbed at the air as if he would pull himself out of the flood with it, and sank back below the waves. He knew that the colors were fading, even as he lost feeling in his arms and legs. Suddenly he realized that his moment of watery flight accompanied a deadly price. But he didn't want to give up, it wasn't worth the cost. He started yelling at the top of his voice, but his futile hails were only answered by the incessant laughing of the white capped waves.

Where was Prowl? He had promised to always be there when his friend needed him! His friend loved the water more than he, and it seemed as if it was the element in which his friend was the most graceful and happy. He was angry that his Prowl had left to explore without him, leaving him hanging so very dangerously close to death in the very element his friend held dear. He felt his thoughts rambling, pondering how so many of a mech's dreams could in the end kill them. In a final vain attempt he gave a weak yell, and sunk down below the inky black cloak studded with star shine.

Then Prowl's hand grabbed him. He felt his strong arm grasp his body and he knew his friend would never let him fall again. He was pulled free of the sucking darkness, back up into the light. It was wonderful to see the stars smiling down on him again, and then he saw his friend's face shining down on him too. He knew that he would be safe and wanted to kick himself for doubting his friend's words to him.

His friend turned to him, holding him close to help warm his cool plating, and said, "It is a beautiful night to watch the stars Jazz. However, next time do not try to touch them. Or swim in them, for that matter." Prowl quirked a small smile of amusement as his joke left Jazz totally speechless for a change.

There are so many things, Jazz thought, that he wished he could hold in his hand for all eternity, or at least capture them in a glass so he could gaze on them and have everlasting joy. But he also knew that if a moment like that could be relived over and over it would be cheapened. At least half of its value lives in the fact that it can only exist in one brief second before burning itself out. The brightest star has the shortest life, but everyone sees it and mourns its passing. Those who fear being seen glow dimly for a long time, but no one notices when they started to glow or when they cease to exist. They fade into the past, and are as memorable as a mirage in the desert. It seems certain that he had seen it, but looking back it seems more like a dream than reality. Some argue that if a star glows even dimly for a time, travelers will find their way by it. But travels like themselves will follow the bright starts that point them to the places that need to be reached the most. Why would a dim star mark the location of anything truly important?

Jazz decided at that moment in time that it is always better to follow the bright stars because they are like a rainbow, the beautiful beacon for those trying to find the lost shores of their dreams. And with Prowl by his side, Jazz was more than happy to jump in with both feet, chasing those star driven dreams.


End file.
